3YC - 3 Young Contemporaries: chi too, minstrel kuik, poodien
Valentine Willie Fine Art, Kuala Lumpur
22 October - 13 November 2010
3 Young Contemporaries, at Valentine Willie Fine Art, Kuala Lumpur, is an annual exhibition programme that showcases the work of young and emerging artists in Southeast Asia. Purposefully seeking out vibrant and challenging creative visions the programme aims to provide an important platform for new ideas in a substantial and focused manner. Rather than a mixed regional selection this year also focuses exclusively on Malaysian artists: chi too, minstrel kuik and poodien to explore the concerns of new talent in Kuala Lumpur.
As a photographer minstrel kuik (b. 1976) interrogates the status of both her medium and subject matter. Inspired by the need to understand, deconstruct and reinvent notions of home, cultural identity and photography itself she takes multiple images of her family and hometown to create a visual community of images which are displayed in various ways and formations. Interrogating individuality, collectivity, gender and social structures through both photography and an intricate textile piece she expands the boundaries of her chosen medium, its display and language as well as notions of diaspora, family, personal and public critique.
chi too (b. 1981) has recently shifted his focus from film making to fine art practice using humour, satire and visual poetics to create a diverse system of objects that reveal his own never ending emotional struggles. Working in video, installation and sculpture, his practice rejects socio- political statements for personal reflections and frustrations. His experimental music, poetry reading and playful public events such as Main Dengan Rakyat and Lepark display a genuine need to engage with audiences and form part of his complex multifaceted approach to practice.
poodien (b.1979) fills the gallery space with mechanical toys in order to orchestrate an elaborate performance that explores the life and death of objects. His interest in politics, performance, painting and articulating differences, form part of an eclectic and unique vision. Citing influences from cult film maker Alejandro Jodorowsky, for the exhibition he creates interactive situations that implicate and engage audiences in a surreal, macabre and spontaneous happening.
Such diverse bodies of practice and ideologies confront viewers with personal and artistic curiosities, comedies, satires and provocations by Malaysian artists who are constantly developing and pushing their practice. Their shared locality has meant that all three have been able to discuss their ideas more closely than ever before to create an integrated experimental exhibition that weaves multiple threads, energies, objects and performances together to create an exciting presentation for this year's 3 Young Contemporaries at Valentine Willie’s fine art gallery in Kuala Lumpur.
